TISHOMINGO, Okla — Six teenage students killed in a collision with a semi were riding in a small car with only four seats, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said Wednesday.
Only the 16-year-old car's driver and front-seat passenger were wearing seat belts when the 2015 Chevrolet Spark collided with the truck Tuesday afternoon in Tishomingo, a rural city of about 3,000 located about 100 miles southeast of Oklahoma City, the highway patrol said.
The highway patrol says those killed include the 16-year-old driver, three 15-year-olds, and two 17-year-old passengers.
The victims' names weren't released because they are juveniles.
Tishomingo Public School Superintendent Bobby Waitman said in a Facebook post that the district had “a great loss” involving students from the district’s high school.
“Our hearts are broken, and we are grieving with our students and staff,” said Waitman. The school planned to be open on Wednesday with a focus on “the emotional well-being of our students.”
The girls were eastbound on Oklahoma 22 when their vehicle was struck by a rock hauler that was approaching from the east on U.S. 377, OHP Trooper Shelby Humphrey told KXII-TV of nearby Sherman, Texas.
Maps show the intersection is at the end of a 90-degree curve of U.S. 377 from east to south. The girls’ car was making a right turn when it collided with the truck, Humphrey said.
Stewart said all six victims were female. The condition of the semi driver was not immediately known.
Images from the scene of the crash showed a virtually destroyed black vehicle with what appeared to be a pink steering wheel among the rubble.